Endangered okapi born at San Diego Zoo

What is partially striped and cute all over? That would be 4-week-old Mosi, the first endangered okapi to be born at the San Diego Zoo in four years.

Mosi — which is Swahili for “first-born” — was born on July 21 to mother Mbaya and father Amare. It was Mbaya’s first birth, and the 8-year-old okapi has turned out to be a relaxed and cooperative mother. Mbaya was also born at the San Diego Zoo.

“This is her first calf, and she is allowing us to interact with this calf because she trusts us,” said John Michel, senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

“It was a relationship we developed over a long period of time prior to the calf being born. And so, the relationship we have with her is the same relationship we have with the calf — very trusting.”

While their striped legs and hindquarters make okapis look like they are at least part zebra, they are the only living relative of the giraffe. Like giraffes, okapis have large, upright ears that are sensitive to even the slightest sounds. They also have the giraffe’s long, dark and flexible tongue, which helps them strip buds and leaves from plants in their native Ituri Forest in central Africa.

Thanks to their sharp hearing, secretive nature and the camouflage provided by their distinctive markings, okapis are hard to find in the wild. Scientists did not discover them until 1900. Okapis first came to the San Diego Zoo in 1956.

The animal care staff members say that Mosi is a strong youngster who has inherited his mother’s calm personality. But he has a considerable conservation weight on his shoulders.

Hunting and habitat loss have reduced the wild population to about 25,000, and the okapi is listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Endangered Species. There have been more than 60 okapis born at the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park since the animals came to the zoo 61 years ago.

Zoo visitors can see Mosi, Mbaya and their fellow okapis in their habitat along Hippo Trail. The Safari Park okapis are in the Africa Loop habitat.

Twitter: @karla_peterson

karla.peterson@sduniontribune.com